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Philadelphia, PA, May 16, 2024 – Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) and Philadelphia Foundation (PF) are pleased to announce that the grant application window for Art Works will open May 24, 2024. Founded in 2021, Art Works is a joint $3 million grant program designed to support local Philadelphia artists and arts and cultural organizations working in partnership with BIPOC and other traditionally underserved communities. For the first year, the grant will also be open to local artist collectives, recognizing the expansive artistic community working in Philadelphia. Applications will be available at www.philafound.org/artworks and are due by Friday, June 28. The fourth cohort of grantees will be announced in November of this year.
Art Works accepts applications from local cultural nonprofit (or fiscally sponsored) organizations with annual operating budgets between $250,000 and $5 million as well as artist collectives and individual artists committed to incorporating community perspectives into their work. Individual artists will each receive $50,000 over two years and collectives will receive between $50,000 and $150,000 depending on the scope of their work and their engagement with the community. Organization awards will range from $75,000-$150,000 over two years and can be used to support any aspect of an organization’s mission and operations.
Previous grantees have used their unrestricted funds to increase the reach of their programming, forge new relationships with community groups, promote their work, launch campaigns, grow their social media presences, and increase organizational support, among other successes. Grantees have also used the program to connect with one another. In 2023, grantees Vashti DuBois, founder of The Colored Girls Museum, and Andrea Walls, founder of Museum of Black Joy, in collaboration with Cassandra Bolding of Black Lotus Health Collective, partnered to bring a group of 32 Black men and women to Montclair Art Museum to witness Vanessa German’s exhibition please imagine everything i cannot say…
“We’re thrilled to continue our work with Philadelphia Foundation and support the artists and organizations who help to grow and nourish Philadelphia’s creative communities,” said FAI Executive Director Adjoa Jones de Almeida. “As we rediscover every year when reviewing applications, Philadelphia is teeming with innovative, necessary artists and organizations that have a deep passion for enriching the city and its cultural landscape and discourse.”
FAI and PF are proud to, once again, give grantees the opportunity to host co-operative education students from Drexel University to support programs and operations. These placements, administered by Drexel’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships, are designed to provide students with meaningful work experience in the arts and culture sector. All grantees will also have access to experiential professional development workshops and pro bono professional consulting services, providing support on legal, marketing, communications, budgeting, and finance matters, among others.
“Our partnership with the Forman Arts Initiative is transformative,” stated Pedro A. Ramos, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Foundation. “With each successive cohort we have witnessed the profound impact artists and arts organizations can have on breaking down barriers in our community. We are excited to see what this year brings as artist collectives can now apply.”
The 2024 cohort will join the previous three in representing a powerful network of artists and organizations dedicated to shaping Philadelphia’s future through social engagement and lasting community initiatives. Year One, Two, and Three grantees include the following organizations and artists:
Year Four grantees will be selected by a committee composed of community advisors, civic leaders and FAI and PF principals and staff. The Selection Committee will meet this September to review the finalists. Awardees will be notified in October with a public announcement following in November 2024. |
